Boutique Cruises
EXPLORATION CRUISE 7 day / 6 night DETAILED ITINERARY
Ideal for Kimberley adventurers to combine with a land based tour or for those travellers with limited time. A relaxing cruise but with many activities – less time travelling and more time to explore and experience the diversity offered by this part of the Kimberley. Spend your days, cruising, exploring, fishing, oystering, mucrabbing, walking on deserted beaches and reefs and swimming in freshwater pools and rainforests. During the evening, enjoy your day's catch and relax with a fine wine and good company with the stars and moon as a backdrop.
Fly in and out from Broome, Western Australia, with the cruise departing from and returning to Strickland Bay or the Horizontal Waterfalls
| Day 1 | An early departure from Broome for a scenic flight over the aquamarine waters of the Buccaneer Archipelago to arrive at a remote location. Board the tender ‘Sailor’s Delight’ to transfer to ‘Red Sky at Night’ where we welcome you aboard. After settling in to your home for the next 6 nights, a special trip to see the Horizontal Waterfalls, raging tidal waters through small gaps in the cliffs then we cruise to a forgotten corner of Talbot Bay to our secret reef waterfall, exposing as the tide recedes, tiered cascades tumbling into a clear pool. View sharks, trevally, tropical fish, coral, clams, turtles and lots more. Cruise to a hidden inland sea for a day of exploring with gorges, one home to a large crocodile, another with waterfall and short climb to a pool and rainforest. Fishing at a very interesting rock bar to catch dinner before returning to Red Sky for our complimentary ‘Mango Daiquiris’ |
| Day 2 | An early start to travel with the outgoing tide to anchor at Shelter Bay. Another exposed inland reef. We walk on this one and marvel at the variety of corals and reef life. Explore further to find gorges and a fishing spot before heading for our own special rainforest with its warm pool under a canopy of leaves and a waterfall. After lunch, a short cruise to anchor in the lee of spectacular sandstone cliffs. Throw in a line to supply the galley for dinner. |
| Day 3 | Photo opportunities with the morning sun on the cliffs mirrored in the waterways as we move to our next stop – a certainty for mudcrabs. Explore the mangrove creeks as the tide floods and be amazed at the variety of life. Dodge the crocodiles while we once again gather our dinner. Just before the turn of the tide, we head north with whirlpools and tide skirted islands. Maybe a whale or dolphin sighting before cruising past Koolan Island with its scarred mine face and on to Yampi Sound to anchor at Silvergull Creek. Collect plate sized black lipped oysters from the rocks at low tide and maybe fishing on the reef before returning to Red Sky for a sheltered anchorage. |
| Day 4 | Visit an interesting bay with beaches and unbelievable rock gyrations, with more oysters, before cruising to Crocodile Creek for a refreshing swim in a clear stream feeding a waterfall, fringed with Pandanus palms. Race with the swirling tide to a pure white silica beach for a walk through the snow like sand after a delicious Lunch. Cruise through the Buccaneer Archipelago whilst relaxing on deck after the day’s exertions. Travel into a forgotten bay through a zigzag entry in time to anchor for the sunset. A spot of fishing before sunset |
| Day 5 | Enjoy the tranquillity of this hidden bay before an early morning fishing trip followed by a scenic cruise through Whirlpool Pass and into Strickland Bay. Experience the immense tidal flow on the way to ‘The Graveyards’ so named because of the loss of pearl divers in the 1890’s. Mudcrabbing and exploration of deserted islands and a forgotten gorge. Crocodile spotting before a very secluded anchorage |
| Day 6 | Visit a fascinating island with historic diver’s graves and majestic rock formations - thousands of hermit crabs staking claim to the rocks and beach, flowering native plants, striking views of the islands and waterway. A short cruise to anchor at the mouth of a mangrove creek and then a tender ride for a bushwalk to discover waterfalls with refreshing swimming and stunning scenery. A sheltered gorge between cliffs for the night’s anchorage with a rock bar just at the mouth for exciting fishing |
| Day 7 | Be woken by the birds before a relaxing breakfast aboard. Travel to the south eastern end of Strickland Bay to our ‘private airstrip’ to await the arrival of the seaplane whilst reminiscing about the past exciting days, before our sad farewells to return to civilisation |
Getting back to nature has never been this civilised
